It’s hard out there for recent college graduates looking for jobs. In fact, I can say confidently that you probably won’t find a “real” job for a while. It’s an employers’ market and they have pick of the litter when it comes to applicants.

What it all comes down to is this… You have 30 other people applying for the same position you are, and if one of them has a better resume than you they are going to get the job.

Here is a different job search strategy that will help you avoid wasting time, get you noticed, and hopefully land you a better position than you otherwise would have.

DITCH THE COVER LETTER

The cover letter is the single biggest “time suck” of the application process. If you intend on applying to a number of places, composing catered cover letters can be quite burdensome. Here is a different approach.

Now, you CAN spend two hours perfecting a cover letter and making it shine, but chances are the employer will look at it for 2 seconds, glance at your resume, and move on. It’s that quick. DON’T invest 2 hours creating a cover letter if:

You don’t think you have a good chance of getting the job

You don’t really want the job

You aren’t going to put time and effort into it

You have poor writing skills

I know this goes against everything you’ve heard from every career counselor that has ever trudged this Earth, but they also grew up in a different economic environment.

NOW, I’m not saying you should ALWAYS ditch the cover letter. In fact, if it’s a job you think you have a good shot at landing you should unequivocally compose a flawless cover letter. I sometimes spend upwards of 2 hours wordsmithing one if it’s a job I really want.

However, you are going to have to apply for a lot of jobs before you land something (or at least most Gen Y members will), and if you spend 2 hours on each cover letter you will hate yourself (I did).

Save your time an effort for the jobs that you care about, but at the same time apply to every job posting you can. Go for quantity over quality for the jobs you’re unsure of.

This leads to the next point.

CARPET BOMB YOUR RESUME

If you are unfamiliar with the term Carpet bombing this is what it is.

Each one of those bombs is a resume, and the tanks on the ground, possible employers. If you drop enough of those bad boys you are going to hit your mark. Like the video stated, “Carpet bombing is used for missions in which volume is needed, not precision”

I should note that tanks dread carpet bombers, as do employers, but guess what…. Gen Y didn’t create this mess, so they are going to have to deal with it. All we want is a chance to work, can you hate us for that?

If you followed the next step in the process, seeding your resume is remarkably easy.

Lastly, and most importantly, spring the $30 it takes to acquire a LinkedIn premium membership. If you do, it is the equivalent of turning each of those bombs (or resumes) into a smart missile. You will automatically be bumped up to the top of the applicant pool and your resume will be the first one employers see.

All you have to do when you apply on LinkedIn is click the little yellow “Apply Now” button, upload your resume, upload a cover letter (OR NOT), and submit. You will be rocketed to the top of the applicant list, and all you have to do is play the waiting game.